The State of Illinois has signed a Memorandum of Agreement with the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to set up and provide significant funding for a campus to be named the “Quantum Proving Ground”. This site will be used for DARPA’s Quantum Benchmarking Initiative where companies will research and test quantum computer prototypes. The site is planned to have shared cryogenic facilities, equipment labs, and spaces for companies and universities to perform research and demonstrate their progress.
DARPA is planning to issue a Request for Proposals shortly for organizations to locate a group that will use these resources for proving out their technology. DARPA will select promising proposal for funding with a total budget of up to $140 million. The State of Illinois will match this funding as part of the $500 million allocated for quantum research in the 2025 Illinois state budget.
Two large locations in the Chicago metropolitan area have been discussed as locations for the Quantum Proving Ground, as shown in the pictures above. Final site selection has not been determined yet as there are still a number of factors, including possible environmental cleanup factors, that will need to be resolved. There is already significant quantum research activity going on in Illinois including two U.S. national labs, several universities, and others organizations which are members of the Chicago Quantum Exchange. And the state is hoping to parlay this award into developing a local quantum industry that will generate thousands of future jobs.
For more about this project and agreement with DARPA, you can view a press release issued by the office of Illinois governor JB Pritzker here. In addition, DARPA has posted a blog article describing this new Quantum Benchmarking Initiative program here.
July 16, 2024